RStudio Connect v1.5.8

Jeff Allen

2017-10-24

We’re pleased to announce RStudio Connect: version 1.5.8. This release enables reconnects for Shiny applications, more consistent and trustworthy editing of user information, and various LDAP improvements.

The major changes this release include:

Enabled support for Shiny reconnects. Users of Shiny applications are less likely to be interrupted during brief network hiccups. The Client.ReconnectTimeout property specifies how long that session is maintained when there is connectivity trouble. The default setting is 15s. See https://shiny.rstudio.com/articles/reconnecting.html to learn more about reconnecting to Shiny applications. Disable this feature by giving the Client.ReconnectTimeout property a value of 0.

Greater consistency around editing user information. Authentication providers that expect user information to come in externally (like LDAP and OAuth) will by default forbid users from editing their information and will automatically refresh user profile information when the user logs in. Other providers now more consistently allow information that was specified when the user created their account to be edited by the user later.

The browseURL R function is disabled when executing deployed content. Use techniques like the Shiny shiny::tags$a function to expose links to application visitors.

Support more flexibility when searching for LDAP users and groups with the [LDAP].UserFilterBase and [LDAP].GroupFilterBase settings.

LDAP configuration’s BindDN password can now be stored in an external file using the new BindPasswordFile field. Also made improvements to LDAP group membership lookups.

Previously, usernames could not be edited when using the LDAP authentication provider by default or if the Authentication.RequireExternalUsernames flag was set to true. Now, user email, first name, and last name are also not editable for this configuration.

Connect administrators now receive an email as license expiration nears. Email is sent when the license is sixty days from expiring. Disable this behavior through the Licensing.Expiration setting.

Resolved a bug in the version of the rebuild-packrat command-line tool that was released in v1.5.6. Previously, the migration utility would render static content inaccessible. This release fixes this behavior and adds support for running this CLI tool while the RStudio Connect server is online. However, due to the discovery of new defects, the utility is disabled by default and is not recommended for production use until further notice. Those wishing to attempt to use the utility anyway should do so on a staging server that can be safely lost, and all content should be thoroughly tested after it has completed. http://docs.rstudio.com/connect/1.5.8/admin/cli.html#migration-cli

Fixed an issue with account confirmations and password resets for servers using non-UTC time zones.

LDAP now updates user email, first name, and last name every time a user logs in.

Fix an issue when performing the LOGIN SMTP authentication mechanism.

BREAKING: Changed the default value for PAM.AuthenticatedSessionService to su. Previously, on some distributions of Linux, setting PAM.ForwardPassword to true could present PAM errors to users when running applications as the current user if the AuthenticatedSessionService was not configured. System administrators who had previously edited the rstudio-connect PAM service for use in ForwardPassword mode should update the PAM.AuthenticatedSessionService configuration option. See:http://docs.rstudio.com/connect/1.5.8/admin/process-management.html#pam-credential-caching-kerberos

BREAKING: The format of the RStudio Connect package file names have changed. Debian package file names have the form rstudio-connect_1.2.3-7_amd64.deb. RPM package file names have the form rstudio-connect-1.2.3-7.x86_64.rpm. In addition, the RPM meta-data will have a “version” of 1.2.3 and a “release” of 7 for this file name. Previously, the RPM would have had a “version” of 1.2.3-7.

Upgrade Planning

There are no special precautions to be aware of when upgrading from v1.5.6. You can expect the installation and startup of v1.5.8 to be complete in under a minute.

If you’re upgrading from a release older than v1.5.6, be sure to consider the “Upgrade Planning” notes from those other releases, as well.

If you haven’t yet had a chance to download and try RStudio Connect we encourage you to do so. RStudio Connect is the best way to share all the work that you do in R (Shiny apps, R Markdown documents, plots, dashboards, Plumber APIs, etc.) with collaborators, colleagues, or customers.